Fleur de L'amour
by Lord Agravane the Undead
Summary: Cyrus blinked, his face showing no emotion but his mind working swiftly. Prepare? What did that mean? Cyrus spoke again, trying to keep any trace of curiosity out of his voice. He was still uncomfortable with showing emotions, despite the long talk he had had with Lysandre in the Distortion World. "What exactly are you planning to do with us, Miss Sakura?
1. Chapter 1

**Fleur de L'amour**

_By Lord Agravane Undead and Sakura Alexia_

Disclaimer: We don't own Pokémon or any of the original characters from the Pokémon World.

* * *

_Notes: The characters Sakura and Robin are owned by Sakura Alexia._

_For the purpose of the story, Fantina is Jupiter's aunt. _

* * *

**Part 1**

Cyrus gazed at the gold edged mirror in front of him, a shadowy figure of a gaunt man staring back. Although the real Cyrus was not really looking. Rather, his eyes were looking but his mind was far away, contemplating the events which had led him to be in this situation.

He had been alone in the Distortion World, his plans in tatters, his whole life's work ruined. He had no idea what to do next. Formulate a new, fail-proof plan? Give up and remain in the Distortion World?

He was completely lost.

Then if things could not have become stranger, a man had turned up. A tall, red-haired man, dressed smartly and with a serious expression on his face. He had introduced himself as Lysandre Fleur-de-lys, an inventor from Lumiose City, in Kalos.

At this point, Cyrus was too disheartened to care why an inventor from Kalos had travelled to the Distortion World but that had soon changed. Lysandre had sat down with him and talked. Just…talked.

Cyrus had considered getting up and walking away but that would have been rude and besides, he had had nothing better to do. So he had listened to Lysandre and as he did, things had started to become clear.

It felt, to Cyrus, as if he had been staring at a heavy mass of grey clouds for so many months and suddenly, Lysandre was a single, frail sunbeam, shining through. Giving him hope.

Some time after that (Hours? Days? Cyrus didn't know, as time didn't pass in the Distortion World as it did on Poke-earth), Lysandre had returned to the living World and Cyrus had accompanied him. What Lysandre had said to him, Cyrus never told anybody but his Commanders noticed that he was a changed man.

And the change seemed to be for the better. There was a new light of hope in his eyes.

* * *

The former Commanders of Team Galactic had mixed feelings on their new, up and coming careers.

They were all loyal to the death to Cyrus and would do anything he asked of them. So, when he had told them that Team Galactic were finished but Lysandre had offered them all suitable employment together, naturally, they had all accepted. They wished to stay together and also, with Cyrus.

Saturn relaxed in a comfy chair, eyeing up a brand new games console nearby. It seemed that Lysandre had spared no expenses to insure that his new employees were comfortable and happy. Saturn wondered if that was why Lysandre had spoken to them each, individually, earlier on that week. He had been very kind to Saturn, asking him about his interests and hobbies and had seemed genuinely interested when Saturn had talked eagerly about computer games and how cat Pokemon were his favourite kind.

Glancing over at the silent Cyrus, Saturn felt a pang at the thought that he was no longer his Boss but Saturn hoped that Lysandre would prove to be a good boss too. So far, so good.

Jupiter was lounging opposite Saturn, her chin resting on her hand as she contemplated their new career. As strange as it seemed, she still wasn't exactly sure what they were going to be doing. All she knew for certain was that it involved dancing.

Which made perfect sense, as they were employed at the Fleur de L'amour, a new club that Lysandre had opened in Veilstone City. Veilstone was famous as the entertainment capital of Sinnoh and had many clubs and casinos. Some were rather seedy but Lysandre's establishment was high class.

It was a big change from being a Galactic Commander but Jupiter was reasonably familiar with dancing. Her aunt Fantina, the gym leader of Hearthome City was a very famous dancer and she had taught Jupiter to dance as a child. It was Fantina who had recommended Jupiter to Lysandre and Jupiter was extremely grateful towards her for this, as it gave her a chance of a better future.

Mars sat in a hard backed chair, close to Cyrus. She shuffled her feet about, making tracks in the plush carpet with her boots. She was anxious and suspicious. She didn't like Cyrus not being her Boss anymore. She didn't feel comfortable being in a strange place. She wasn't exactly sure whether she could trust Lysandre, though he seemed genuine enough.

The truth was, Mars was just afraid of change. And it was a big change to get used to.

Yet, the most important thing to her was being supportive towards Cyrus. If this was what he wanted, then so be it. Mars smiled at him, keeping all her nervous feelings locked tightly away. No matter how she felt, she wouldn't let Cyrus down.

* * *

Meanwhile in another room Sakura was preparing her work tools. Lysandre had already explained in detail what she had to do and she had already made some accurate sketches of her projects.

The girl sat in front of a mirror, a black marker in her hand. She brushed away her bangs before getting to work; she drew a flower on her right eye, more precisely a lily, she made sure to draw some swirly patterns too, to complete the thing.

Once satisfied with the result, she put back the marker in its place.

She checked her things once more, making sure to have everything; she put the drawings in a plastic cover and took the suitcase with her tools and a handbag with some clothes inside, and made her way to the dressing room.

Four pair of eyes looked at her as she entered...

* * *

Cyrus glanced up as he heard the door open, coming out of his thoughts. Seeing a young lady enter the room, he stood up and walked over to her.

"Good afternoon, Miss," Cyrus said, in his usual monotone but sounding polite. "Did you want something? May we help you?"

"You're the new employees right? I'm Sakura," she introduced herself and extended her hand for Cyrus to shake, which he did.

"Cyrus," he simply said, saying his own name was more than enough to introduce himself.

The other commanders strolled over to introduce themselves as well. The first one was Jupiter, who shook Sakura's hand without hesitation.

"My name is Jupiter, I hope we will get along," she spoke in a confident tone.

The next one was Mars, who still appeared nervous; she shakily took the girl's hand. "M-my name is Mars, ni-nice to meet you," she stuttered out.

While Saturn took his time to admire the girl in front of him, taking in every single detail. From her white, long, silky hair tied in a high ponytail, to her sky blue eyes. She was wearing an ice blue top with a single sleeve, a pair of tight blue jeans and a pair of ice blue sandals.

Her clothes hugged her curves perfectly in Saturn's opinion, and the colours highlighted her bronze skin. He was completely lost in admiring Sakura that he didn't notice her staring at him.

Saturn blushed hard, ashamed that had been caught staring. "I'm Saturn, pleased to meet you," he bowed. He hoped that being polite would help him to not to get on her nerves, it was the last thing he wanted right now.

Sakura gave a slight cough to ease the tension and started to speak again. "As you may have guessed by now I work here, and right now I'm here to prepare all of you". Her tone was polite but authoritative at the same time.

Cyrus blinked, his face showing no emotion but his mind working swiftly. Prepare? What did that mean? Prepare for what?

Cyrus spoke again, trying to keep any trace of curiosity out of his voice. He was still uncomfortable with showing emotions, despite the long talk he had had with Lysandre in the Distortion World.

"What exactly are you planning to do with us, Miss Sakura?"

Sakura tilted her head to the side, confused. "You mean that you don't know what your job here is?" she asked, It was strange, why accept this work if they didn't know what they had to do?

"I know a little," Cyrus replied. "Monsieur Fleur-de-lys told me that some of my services would entail working with machines, such as checking mechanical equipment for faults and repairing if necessary. I believe Commander Jupiter is to be an entertainer...a dancer?"

Jupiter nodded, rather eager at the thought of this. Saturn caught Mars's eye and frowned, indicating to her that he was clueless.

"I see..." she said softly, taking the information in. "Well dancing is not exactly correct but you're close by, and I do believe that if Lysandre didn't give you any more information I'm afraid its not something I should say either". She made her way to one of the desks and put both her suitcase and handbag on it.

"He just said to design some outfits for all of you, and so I did," she calmly explained.

She then opened the handbag and started to take out the clothes inside it, displaying them neatly on another desk.

Saturn looked relieved to learn that they weren't going to be dancing. He thought that men dancing were a little silly. Jupiter seemed disappointed; however, she brightened up at the mention of outfits. It still sounded like they were going to be doing something artistic. She went over to the desk, filled with curiosity.

Saturn and Cyrus followed Jupiter and Mars glanced at Sakura warily before following Cyrus.

Sakura opted to show Jupiter her outfit, she seemed pretty eager to see it; she didn't want to make her wait. Her outfit consisted in a black leather corset, black long leather pants and a pair of black high heeled boots.

Jupiter eyed up the outfit and smiled, obviously impressed. Saturn stared, wide eyed and Cyrus was confused, although his expression didn't register this. How on Poke-earth was Jupiter expected to dance in high heeled shoes? Then he remembered that Sakura had told them they weren't actually going to be dancing and he began to feel a little nervous.

"You should put it on Jupiter," Sakura instructed. She then led the purple haired commander in the fitting room; she entered as well in case Jupiter had problems with something, which in fact she did, with the corset laces. Sakura tied them for her making sure that they weren't too tight or too loose.

"What do you think?" she asked, curious to know Jupiter's opinion.

Jupiter admired her reflection in the mirror, a rather evil smirk on her face.

"Why, it's splendid," she said. "Hmm, let's see what Mars and the boys think of it".

Jupiter stepped out of the changing room, still smiling. Mars and Saturn both stared with big, round eyes. Cyrus took one glance, raised his eyebrows and then immediately tipped his head downwards, finding his boots very interesting. If anybody would have looked closer, they would have seen a faint pink blush staining his cheeks.

"Looks like they like it," Sakura commented, a smug grin on her face. "Okay Mars you're next," she said, giving the red-haired commander her clothes.

She wore a revealing golden scale armour bikini, a pair of brown greaves and gloves, and high-heeled armour boots. She also was adorned with a long, large crimson red cape.

Looking at her reflection Mars blushed hard, the outfit was far too revealing for her and she was starting to be really afraid of what would come next. Completely embarrassed she showed herself to the others.

Jupiter giggled and gave Mars a knowing wink. Saturn tried (and failed) not to look at Mars's chest area. Cyrus took one glance, went bright red and muttered something about going to get a glass of water.

Sakura clapped her hands a couple of times to draw attention back to her. "Saturn, you're up," she said, handling him a pair of blue pants, with fur from the knee and going down.

Saturn shook his head, tearing his eyes away form Mars' cleavage. He took the pants off Sakura, a puzzled look on his face.

"Uh, thanks," he said, somewhat nervously. "Is this...all?"

"Yes its all," the white haired girl nodded smiling.

Saturn was startled. He just had to wear blue pants?

He changed into them and re-joined the other, feeling rather self conscious. Jupiter giggled and Mars had a nice revenge, admiring his bare chest. Cyrus sipped his glass of water, which he had poured from a water cooler in the room. It seemed that Lysandre had supplied everything his new staff members would need.

"Cyrus," Sakura called "Time for you to dress up as well".

He, like Saturn didn't had much to wear. At least he had shoes on, and his pants didn't have fur, instead they had quite a complicated design. They made his legs look like the ones of a robot, while the shoes were a pair of boots, perfectly coordinated with his pants.

Cyrus stared at the pants; his eyebrows raised just a fraction. They actually looked rather pleasant and definitely comfortable to wear. There was just one concern.

Cyrus met Sakuras' eyes for a moment before asking, "Is...is there something for my top half as well, Miss?"

She smiled. "Oh yes, I shall take care of it personally".

She then opened her suitcase and took out some of her tools, which were brushes of various dimensions and a set of gray colours in many shades. Sakura then proceeded to pour them each in a different plastic plate, she didn't want them to mix with each others after all, she was professional.

Cyrus watched Sakura, unable to keep the surprise off his face. She was going to paint him? He suddenly felt extremely embarrassed and he didn't dare look at his Commanders to see their reactions. However, a small part of him felt...pleased? He couldn't help but wonder what he would look like as a robot, when Sakura had finished.

"So... are you ready?" Sakura asked, excitement evident in her voice as she approached him with quite a big brush and one of the plates, which contained a quite dark gray colour.

Cyrus swallowed nervously and nodded his head. He had discussed emotions with Lysandre in the Distortion World and they had come to an agreement that emotions themselves weren't bad, as long as they were controlled. However, Cyrus was having great difficulty controlling his at the moment and worse still; he knew that he was blushing. First Mars in that...outfit and now this. Cyrus guessed that he was blushing more today than he had done in an entire lifetime.

Nodding Sakura got to work, she dipped the brush in the colour and started to paint Cyrus chest first. She wasn't bothered by his height as she wasn't a short person herself; she was even taller than both Jupiter and Mars, despite being so young. She moved the brush slowly and accurately, making sure to cover every inch of his skin, this was the background colour after all; she had to lay it everywhere before making the details.

Cyrus sat still, feeling horribly exposed without his shirt on. He stared directly ahead of him; he couldn't look down because they he would see his bare chest and he didn't like seeing himself unclothed at the best of times.

The Commanders were also pretty surprised by these strange events. Saturn was relieved that he wasn't the only one without his shirt on. He also had a desire to giggle at Cyrus but he kept it under control; he knew his Boss was shy and he didn't want to embarrass him more. Jupiter was eyeing up Cyrus with mild curiosity, surprised that he was going through with being painted. As for Mars, she was torn between her own shyness at wearing her skimpy costume and her desire to admire Cyrus with no shirt on.

Cyrus managed to hold it together until Sakura began painting near his underarm. He discovered, for the first time in his life, that he was sensitive there. His lip twitched and he instinctively squirmed a little moving away.

Sakura noticed and quickly moved the brush away, to not spoil all her work. She glared at Cyrus. "Can you stay still please?" she scowled, not happy that he nearly ruined everything she did.

"I'm sorry," Cyrus muttered, rather shocked at being scolded like a small child. He wondered if his Commanders found it amusing or whether they were indignant on his behalf. He hoped for the latter but didn't dare look at them to see.

Cyrus nodded. "Alright, I am still now," he said, hoping that he could remain still. The bristles on Sakura's brush were so very ticklish.

"You better, I don't like my work to be spoiled," she scoffed, resuming her work. "I'm nowhere near to be finished with you".

Saturn was worried! He hoped that he wasn't going to be painted too. He *knew* that he was ticklish, thanks to Mars and Jupiter having tickled him on many occasions before, and Saturn didn't want to risk Sakura's wrath.

Jupiter looked highly amused and Mars was concerned. She was mentally willing Cyrus to be able to keep still. Unfortunately, even Mars' helpful thoughts could not save him. Cyrus tried so hard not to move but as soon as the brush touched by his underarm again, he squirmed about and then...to the utter shock of his Commanders, he giggled.

Sakura growled as Cyrus moved; she retracted her brush once again, thankful for her quick reflexes that saved her work again. She glared at him, harder than before.

"I get that you're ticklish, but try to resist please," she huffed. She was starting to lose her patience with him, no one had given her so much trouble before.

Saturn gaped. "Wow, Boss! I've never heard you laugh before".

"Neither have I," Cyrus said, terribly humiliated. He apologised to Sakura once more. Then he took a deep breath and tried to remain still. Somehow (perhaps the shock of laughing had done it), he was able to stay still and allow Sakura to finish her work.

Meanwhile, Jupiter appeared as shocked as Saturn but Mars had a little smile on her face. Hearing her former boss laugh had been pleasant for her. She hoped that when (not if) it happened again, she would be the one to initiate it.

Sakura continued to paint Cyrus, now pleased that he wasn't moving anymore, done with his chest she moved behind him to paint his back as well.

Cyrus waited patiently until Sakura had finished painting him all grey. He gazed down at himself, impressed by her workmanship. At least now he didn't feel so exposed.

Once she was done with the background colour she changed her brush to a smaller one. She switched to a lighter gray colour and began to do the details, tracing every single line with perfect accuracy.

Cyrus watched Sakura carefully, studying the painted design on her face. It was then he noticed the scar. Sakura's right eye was damaged; a scar cutting across it vertically.

_So that was what the make up was for_. Cyrus wondered how Sakura had obtained the scar but he didn't say anything, as that would have been terribly rude.

However, Cyrus was deeply curious as to what had caused the scar. Noticing that Sakura blinked her eye frequently, he decided to comment on that.

"Excuse me, Miss," he said politely. "Is your eye troubling you?"

Sakura frowned and momentary stopped "I... I can't see too well from it..." she replied in a low voice, it was impossible not to hear the sadness in it. She shook her head clearing her thoughts and resumed her work.

Despite his outward lack of empathy, Cyrus felt bad for Sakura. Even he had enough emotional intelligence to hear her sad tone and he blinked, trying to think of something...anything to say to make her feel better.

"Hm, well it hasn't affected your ability to draw. You are a very skilled artist," he finally said.

"Its okay... it's not like you can do something for it," she sighed. "If I only didn't have that jerk for sister" she murmured.

Cyrus felt uncomfortable and wasn't sure what to say. As a rule, he rarely spoke to any people, except for his Commanders and even then, he didn't talk much. They were the closest to family that he had; Cyrus viewed them as his siblings. This gave him an idea of what to say.

"I didn't have any sisters or brothers. I was an only child".

"You were lucky then," she answered, not really caring on what she was saying, she was used to this since she was a kid. Her sister had always hated her, always.

"I...hadn't really given it much thought," Cyrus said. "I was more interested in machines than other people, as a child". _As I am now, still _he thought.

Then Cyrus remembered his parents. He wanted to shrug but he knew he had to keep still.

"I didn't get on with my parents. Sometimes I felt as if they hated me. It's not good if people hate you".

"True... even worse if they tried to..." she bit her bottom lip, maybe she shouldn't say it.

"Tried to do what?" Cyrus asked. He wasn't being insensitive; he didn't have the social or emotional skills to word his response better. He wished he had not mentioned Sakura's eye because it seemed to have reminded her unpleasant memories from the past. Cyrus had enough of his own to know that such things were best kept hidden, in his opinion.

Sakura bit her lip harder, still unsure if she should answer him. She wished that those words never escaped her lips; she took a deep breath to calm herself down and select the right words to not make it sound too bad.

"She tried to... end my life... when we were kids..."

Cyrus blinked, shocked to hear such a thing. He wondered why anybody's sister would do something like that. He guessed it was probably something to do with emotions, particularly negative ones. He tried to think how best to reply.

"Well, that was quite unpleasant of her, I must say".

"I luckily managed to escape from her wrath... but my eye was damaged in the process". She paused to touch her scar tenderly; it somehow still hurt every time she mentioned that episode.

"Well, that isn't nice at all," Cyrus said. "I think...families should care about one another. Obviously they don't always but still... This is one reason why I find emotions difficult to comprehend".

"Emotions aren't bad, there's nothing wrong with being emotional, unless they're bad ones like anger and hate, which my sister seems to feel a lot," Sakura explained. She had always been an emotional person, but she never felt hate, anger yes, but hate never.

Cyrus listened carefully to Sakura. She sounded rather like Lysandre and the things he had said to Cyrus in the Distortion World. He thought that she was very wise.

* * *

Sakura added the finishing touches to his painting; she kept working even while she was talking after all. "There, done," she announced with a brilliant smile.

"Thank you," said Cyrus. He admired himself in the mirror, surprised at not only how good he looked but how pleased he was with his decorations. It was so strange for Cyrus to actually feel the emotion of pleasure, as he had suppressed all his feelings for so long. His lip twitched, as if he wanted to smile but he wasn't sure how to.

"Glad you like it". Sakura smiled, happy to have made a good work. "Okay now can you come here for a second Saturn?"

Cyrus gave Sakura a nod, which was his way of being friendly. The Commanders were all admiring his decoration, thinking of what a good job Sakura had done on him. Mars went over to Cyrus and patted him on the shoulder.

"It looks good. It really suits you," she said, shyly.

"Yes," Cyrus agreed. "I would make a good robot, don't you think so?"

Mars smiled. "Yes but I like you more as a living man".

Saturn walked to Sakura, looking rather shy. "Yes Miss," he said, wondering if he was going to be painted.

Sakura took a small brush with a fine point. "Let's make something for that cute face of yours" she grinned.

Saturn turned brilliant red at being called cute. He tried to ask what Sakura meant but he just stammered like a schoolboy instead.

Sakura giggled at his reaction but said nothing; instead she cupped his face to keep it still and began painting him.

Saturn held still, as he felt the brush tickling his cheeks. Mars was still admiring Cyrus and Jupiter had come over to watch. She smiled and then began to chuckle at Saturn.

With quick movements of her hand, Sakura painted Saturn's cheeks in no time. "You can admire yourself now," she giggled again, he was so cute indeed.

Saturn looked at his reflection in the mirror and his eyes went wide when he saw that Sakura had painted whiskers on his cheeks. Jupiter clapped her hands and ruffled Saturn's hair.

"Awwww, how sweet," she teased him. "Now you look like a proper kitten!"

Saturn blushed again. Mars came over and she squealed and giggled. Cyrus raised his eyebrows and then actually smirked.

"It suits you, Commander".

"He's not complete yet," Sakura laughed, knowing what he still had to wear, she just couldn't help it. She took out one accessory, a blue cat tail and everyone knew who was going to wear it.

Saturn nearly fell over in shock. "Oh no, no way!" he gasped, turning, if possible, even redder. "I...I...can't wear that!" He stammered and backed up against the wall, so shy.

"You MUST wear this" Sakura threatened glaring at him, she did not like someone disobeying her orders, in this case even more because the outfit was designed from her.

Saturn took a deep breath, to calm himself down and reduce his embarrassment. "Alright then, if I gotta," he mumbled. He moved away from the wall and went over to Sakura. Mars and Jupiter were giggling in delight and even Cyrus was watching curiously, trying to keep a straight face.

"Good boy," she praised him playfully as she finally put on him the belt with the tail.

Saturn felt as if it was impossible to feel any more embarrassed. He soon found out that this was not the case as Mars and Jupiter teased him, with Mars stroking his hair and Jupiter going behind him and gently pulling on the tail.

"Here, don't do that," Saturn whined.

"Awww, doesn't the kitty like having his tail pulled?" she giggled.

"Don't tease him Jupiter," said Mars, petting Saturn's hair.

Saturn sighed and looked hopefully at Cyrus, to see if he would save him. Cyrus just gave him an innocent look as if to say, "_What?_"

Sakura laughed at the funny display before her, she then composed herself for a moment and called Jupiter over to give her the item she would need.

Saturn pouted and Jupiter grinned at him and went over to Sakura.

"Here, this is yours" Sakura said, still giggling from before, handing her a whip.

Jupiter beamed and accepted the whip without hesitation. She showed it to Saturn and Cyrus, a definite smirk on her lips. Saturn paled and Cyrus flickered his eyes over towards Mars before giving Jupiter a small shrug.

"Want to test it out, boys?" Jupiter asked.

Cyrus shook his head. "Don't be silly, Commander," he said gruffly.

Jupiter pretended to pout. "Oh, you're no fun. I'll test it on Saturn instead!"

Saturn tried to flee but Jupiter grabbed hold of his tail and pulled him back. She gently flicked the whip against his behind and Saturn squealed in a girly manner.

"Jupiter please, can you stop it? Lysandre will get angry if he sees him hurt," Sakura scowled, hoping that she would stop.

Jupiter ceased smacking Saturn with the whip and put her hands on her hips. "Awww, you've been around my Boss for too long, Miss Sakura," she said in a hurt tone, though the mischief in her eyes was evident.

Saturn rubbed his bottom and made a face behind Jupiter's back.

"I'm just doing my job," Sakura scoffed crossing her arms.

Jupiter smiled at Sakura in a friendly manner to show that she was only teasing.

Mars eyed up the whip and then she looked at Cyrus. "Do you think I have an item?" she whispered.

"I'll ask," Cyrus replied, knowing that Mars was very shy. Not that he was much better. Perhaps only his Commanders were able to guess at the fact that Cyrus was a very shy person.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Cyrus spoke up. "Does Mars have...anything else to wear or use?"

"Oh no, she doesn't, but you do Cyrus," she grinned pointing at him. She then proceeded to take out two tiny round objects "These" she giggled showing them to him.

Cyrus stared blankly at the strange items. Mars and Saturn were no wiser but Jupiter took one look and began to giggle in delight.

"What...are they?" Cyrus asked.

"They're lights," said Jupiter. "And...guess where they go, Boss?"

Cyrus had a sinking feeling he knew where. This was confirmed when Saturn laughed too and pointed to his own chest!

Cyrus glanced at Sakura, his cheeks hot. "They...aren't, are they?" he said in a low voice.

"Of course they are" she laughed approaching him.

Cyrus backed away at once Oh no. No way was he going to wear lights on his...

"I am not wearing those," he said, trying to sound authoritative but in reality, his voice had adopted a higher pitch again.

Sakura's eyebrow twitched, first Saturn and then him, what was wrong with them? In these cases she had to be harsh with them, a thing that she didn't like to do because it was much Lavender-like, but she couldn't help it at the moment.

"These are Lysandre specific orders and you MUST follow them!" she shouted, not happy of their behaviours.

Poor Cyrus was now blushing terribly and felt as if he wanted to sink through the floor. He could hear his Commanders (especially Jupiter) chuckling and he knew that hey would only become more unruly if he were to don the embarrassing lights.

As Cyrus tried to think up a response that would save him, there was a soft knock on the door. "May I come in?" called out a deep voice, a voice that Cyrus recognised as Lysandre's.

Sakura was about to lose it and yell at Cyrus again when she heard Lysandre's voice from outside the room. _Thanks Arceus _she thought, he came to help her.

"Yes you may come in Lys".

The door opened and Lysandre Fleur-de-lys entered the dressing room. He appeared as smart as ever, dressed in a dark maroon suit, with a crisp white shirt and a black necktie. His hair was fluffed up and there was an amused gleam in his eyes.

"Bonjour, Monsieur's and Mademoiselles", he said warmly. "Is everything well in here?"

"Not exactly, Cyrus refuses to put on the lights," Sakura explained in an annoyed tone, putting her hands on her hips to emphasize her point.

Cyrus tried to speak but made a spluttering sound instead. He couldn't believe how worked up he was getting. He didn't like this at all; he was meant to be keeping his feelings tightly under control and yet they kept bursting out.

Luckily, Saturn spoke up for him instead, the Commander's curiosity getting the better of him.

"Uh, Sir? We were wondering..." he began. "What with these weird costumes and decorations and stuff...what exactly are we gonna be doing?"

Lysandre smiled, pleased that somebody had finally asked the crucial question.

"Why Monsieur," he said, his amused tone never wavering for a moment. "You are your friends are to be erotic dancers".


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

Cyrus stared at Lysandre, completely and utterly shocked throughout his whole being. Perhaps he should have expected something like that, what with the revealing, sexy costumes he and his Commanders had been given but the truth was, he hadn't expected a thing. He had been far too distracted: admiring himself and Mars, finding Saturn amusing and feeling sympathy for Sakura. Cyrus hadn't experienced so many conflicting emotions for a very long time and it was confusing and a little frightening for him. And it didn't look as if this new emotional rollercoaster was about to end any time soon.

Jupiter, however, appeared delighted and she gave Lysandre a beaming (and rather naughty) smile. Mars was blushing again but even so, there was a bit of a grin on her face, while Saturn appeared to be trying to hide behind Cyrus.

"Well, Sakura, I must say you have done a splendid job on them," Lysandre said warmly to the white-haired artist. "Not that I doubted you for a moment but, indeed, you have surpassed yourself."

"Flattery will get you nowhere Lysandre," Sakura grinned, but she appreciated the compliment nonetheless.

Lysandre laughed. "Well, there is no harm in trying, of course. So, are our new entertainers all ready for their first show tonight?" His eyes roamed over the ex Galactic members and Cyrus began to feel nervous.

"Hmm, there is something…missing?" Lysandre enquired, gazing at Cyrus's chest.

Cyrus blushed and eyed up the lights once more. He couldn't…he just couldn't.

"Actually yes," Sakura answered returning serious. "These". She dangled the lights in front of Lysandre's eyes.

"He refuses to put them on." She pointed at the ex Galactic Boss with a scowl on her face.

Lysandre gave Sakura an understanding look. Saturn and Mars exchanged glances and Jupiter snickered.

"Oh come now, Cyrus," Lysandre said, sliding an arm around Cyrus' shoulders. "Your costume won't be complete unless you wear them. And I don't know about you but one of my worst nightmares is going out somewhere if I am not properly dressed."

"Yes but I am sure that you don't go anyplace wearing lights on your…" Cyrus deadpanned.

"Big baby..." Sakura muttered quietly, nobody ever whined so much.

Lysandre chuckled. "Well, you are correct there, Monsieur. However, I do wear the right outfits for the occasion. A smart suit for a dinner date in a restaurant, something more casual for a walk in the park and, if I *were* to be an erotic dancer…" Lysandre tailed off and nodded towards the lights.

"I am not wearing them", Cyrus said, a note of finality in his voice. His former Commanders knew that tone quite well. None of them, not even Mars, had been able to get Cyrus to change his mind when he used that voice.

However, they did not have the charisma or resourcefulness of Lysandre. And their new Boss had a very effective ace up his sleeve indeed.

Lysandre reached into his jacket pocket and took out another item. It was an arch shaped device, made from shiny red plastic and it had a clip on the top, for attaching a neck ribbon so that you could wear it around your neck. It had a button on the back and a large screen on the front.

"Do you know what this is, Cyrus?" Lysandre asked the former Galactic Boss.

Cyrus moved closer, for a better look. "It is some kind of machine?"

"It's a holo caster, an invention of Lysandre Labs," Lysandre explained. "It is a communication device that uses not only audio but also visual signals, in the form of holograms.

Cyrus gazed at the holo caster curiously. "That sounds fascinating. We do not have those devices in Sinnoh. Could you give me a demonstration please, Monsieur?"

"Certainly." Lysandre pressed the button on the back of the device and the screen lit up with a blue glow.

Sakura watched the two with interest, she had known Lysandre for quite some time now, and she figured out that this was one of his ways to get people to do what they had to do, whether they liked it or not.

Cyrus loved machines, she was told and Lysandre was tricking him with them. "Such a clever trick Lys, it better work," she lightly scowled in his direction, her arms crossed.

Lysandre smiled at Sakura, then moved his fingers across the screen, entering some type of data. A beam of light shone out from the top, coalescing into a pretty woman.

"Bonjour Lysandre," she said, her voice as clear as if she were in the room with them. "Is everything well?"

"Bonjour, Malva," Lysandre replied. "Yes, indeed. I just called you because I am demonstrating the holo-caster to our esteemed friend, Cyrus."

"Splendid," said Malva. "And what does he think of it so far?"

"Well, why don't you ask him?" Lysndre passed the holo-caster over to Cyrus, who, despite his usual stoic expression, was secretly pleased to be going to have a turn with it. He held the device and spoke to Malva.

"Hello. I'm Cyrus."

"Hello Cyrus." Malva sounded amused. "How are you doing today?

Cyrus was confused. "How am I doing what? If you mean operating the holo-caster, then I believe I am doing so successfully."

"Well, excellent then. I can tell that you are impressed with it, no?"

"I am impressed very much," Cyrus said. "It is a splendid machine."

"It is indeed."

"Well, bye then," said Cyrus, handing the holo-caster back to Lysandre.

Lysandre smiled. "I shall let you get back to your work then, Malva," he said. "Thank you so much for your helpful co-operation."

"It was no trouble," Malva replied. "Speak to you later, Lysandre."

"Of course!" The image of Malva flickered and faded and the beam of blue light turned off.

"I should be there with her instead of being here..." Sakura spoke sounding rather annoyed.

"May I finish my work here now?" she asked with an heavy sigh, she shouldn't be there but at Malva's bar counter in the main hall to prepare for the second part of her job there.

"Of course," said Lysandre, giving Sakura a charming and rather apologetic smile. "Cyrus..."

"Yes," said Cyrus.

"Here is the deal. I will give you a holo-caster of your own, if you agree to wear the rest of your costume."

Cyrus stared at Lysandre, unblinking. Nobody could possibly guess what was going on in his mind, not even his Commanders. They cast furtive glances to each other, waiting to see how their former Boss responded.

"Very well," Cyrus finally said. His only sign of emotion was a faint pink stain on his cheeks. The lure of the new technology had won him over.

"Arceus finally!" Sakura rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh, she then approached and put the lights on Cyrus' chest.

"I'll take my leave now and join Malva, see ya around," she waved and exited the room.

Poor Cyrus tried very hard not to look down at himself and instead concentrated on the brand new, boxed holo-caster than Lysandre had just take out of his bag.

"Here you are," Lysandre said, giving Cyrus his shiny new toy. The instructions are in the box but I am sure a genius like you won't take long to figure it out."

"Thank you," said Cyrus, accepting the box.

"Ah, wait, there's more," said Lysandre. "It's no good you having a holo-caster and nobody to communicate with. Therefore..."

Lysandre took out three more boxes and gave one each to Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. "For you three as well. Now you can keep in touch with Cyrus whenever and wherever you wish."

The Commanders thanked Lysandre (Mars especially looked delighted). Cyrus appeared a little disgruntled that he wasn't the only one to be receiving a holo-caster but he could see the reasoning behind Lysandre's gesture. There wasn't any point in him having one if he had nobody to talk to with it.

"Right, are we all set then?" Lysandre said. He strode over to the door, beckoning the Galactics. "Come on, let's enjoy ourselves."

"I do not feel the emotion of enjoyment," said Cyrus, as he and his Commanders followed Lysandre out of the dressing room.

* * *

Meanwhile a young black-haired woman walked through the streets of Veilstone City; she had just done a lot of shopping for her and the Pokemon she had in care.

After that she was a bit tired and decided to look around for a place to stop for a while before returning to Celestic Town.

She heard of a brand new cafe in town called 'Fleur de l'amour', she was curious to see how it was.

She found it and entered, the atmosphere was calm and relaxing, and there weren't many people inside yet. She walked to the counter where there were a pink haired woman with a pair of orange sunglasses, and a young white-haired girl who looked busy with a camera.

"Hm, Sakura, what do you think of that Cyrus fellow then?" the pink haired lady was saying. "I spoke to him on the holo-caster. He seems a nice, polite fellow, if a little abrupt."

Sakura kept fiddling with the camera. "He looks like a knowledgeable person, but he behaved like a big baby with me," she answered sounding a bit upset.

"Ah, men are often babies, when they don't get their own way," Malva chuckled. She patted Sakura's arm soothingly. "I'm sure he was just feeling a little out of his depth and..." Malva paused as she noticed the newcomer.

"Ah, Bonjour Madame," she said pleasantly. "How may I be of service?"

Sakura glanced at the woman near her, she was tall, much taller than she was, she had long black hair that reached her waist pulled in a ponytail, her eyes were the colour of the sea and her skin was a bit tanned as well.

She wore a crimson red tank top and long pants of the same colour, looking closely she noticed that she had a really toned body, her stomach was completely flat and a hint of abs were showing, also her feet were bare as well.

She reminded her of Maylene, the gym leader of the city, she must have been some kind of fighter like her.

Robin smiled in a friendly way "Good afternoon, I would like a pink smoothie please". She was in the mood for sweet things today.

"Certainly," said Malva, smiling back. She enjoyed her job as a barmaid; it was always interesting to chat with customers old and new.

"We have Pecha, Nanab or Mago smoothies in the pink category," Malva said. "Which would you prefer, Madame?"

"I think I'll go for the Pecha one," Robin answered, it was her favourite.

Meanwhile Sakura finished checking her camera "Okay I'm ready to work, I'll see ya later Malva" she waved to her.

She went backstage, not passing unnoticed by some customers that didn't waste time in ogling her but she ignored them, and went on.

Presently Lysandre turned up, his new erotic dancers in tow. Saturn was trying to hide behind Jupiter and Mars was standing very close to Cyrus...partially because she was shy and partially because she wanted to be close to him. Cyrus seemed to have recovered and was eyeing up the lightning equipment, high above.

"Ah, Sakura," said Lysandre, going over to her. "We are all ready here. Shall I leave them in your capable hands then?"

"Sure! Leave them to me"


End file.
